LOST SPRING BY ANEES JUNG

Anees Jung was born at Rourkela, India in 1964.She is an Indian woman author, journalist and
columnist. She belongs to an aristocratic family of poets. Her most noted work, Unveiling India (1987)
was a detailed chronicle of the lives of women in India.
DEAR STUDENTS,
GREEN PART: WRITE IN THE NOTEBOOK DATE 01.06.2025
OTHER PART : READ ONLY

Theme
The theme of the chapter is the grinding poverty and the traditions which condemn poor children to a life
of exploitation. The two stories taken together depict the plight of street children forced into labour early
in life and denied the opportunity of schooling. The callousness of the society and the political class only
adds to the sufferings of these poor people.

Characters
 Saheb-e-Alam: A rag picker
 Mukesh: Son of a bangle maker

Introduction
The story, “Lost Spring” describes the pitiable condition of poor children who have been forced to miss
the joy of childhood due to the socio-economic condition that prevails in this man-made world. These
children are denied the opportunity of schooling and forced into labour early in life. Anees Jung gives
voice to eliminate child labour by educating the children and to enforce the laws against child labour by
the governments strictly. The call is to end child exploitation and let the children enjoy the days of the
spring that bring joy under their feet.

Summary - 1
The author tells us stories of her interactions with children from deprived backgrounds. She describes
their poor condition and life in an interesting manner. The story touches the reader and is thought
provoking.
The author described two of her encounters with children from deprived backgrounds. Through them she
wants to highlight the plight of street children forced into labour early in life and are denied the
opportunity of schooling. Also, she brings out the callousness of society and the political class towards
the sufferings of the poor. The first encounter is with a rag picker boy named Saheb – E – Alam who
migrated from Bangladesh in 1971 and lives in Seemapuri in Delhi. These ragpicker children look for
‘valuables’ in the garbage – things like a coin or torn shoes which are as precious as ‘gold’ for them.
They could hardly manage some food for themselves, other things like identity, education, shoes and
sports(Tennis) are their unfulfilled dreams. Their parents scrounged the garbage searching for things
which helped them survive – afford food, clothing and shelter for the family. The children hunted through
the garbage heaps looking for things which could partially fulfil their unfulfilled dreams.
One day the writer saw the boy, holding a steel can, going towards the milk booth. He had got a job at a
tea stall. He was happy that he would get eight hundred rupees and all the meals. The writer noticed that
Saheb had lost the freedom of being his own master which he had enjoyed as a rag picker.
The second boy was Mukesh who belonged to a family of bangle makers in Firozabad. The boy had a
dream of becoming a car mechanic. On the contrary, his family was traditionally engaged in bangle
making, although the profession harmed them physically and they hardly earned any money out of it.
Still, no one dared to dream of doing something else due to the fear of the police and the middlemen. The
family elders were content that other than teaching the art of bangle – making to their children, they had
been able to build them a house to live in. The boy wanted to be a car mechanic. Cars were all that
Mukesh had seen on the roads of his town and so, he could not dream any further.

Summary - 2
I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.
The first part tells the writer’s impressions about the life of the poor rag pickers. The rag pickers have
migrated from Dhaka and found a settlement in Seemapuri. Their fields and homes had been swept away
by storms. They had come to the big city to find a living. They are poor. The writer watches Saheb every
morning scrounging for “gold” in her neighbourhood. Garbage is a means of survival for the elders and
for the children it is something wrapped in wonder. The children come across a coin or two from it. These
people have desires and ambitions, but they do not know the way to achieve them. There are quite a few
things that are unreachable to them, namely shoes, tennis and the like. Later Saheb joins a tea stall where
he could earn 800 Rupees and all the meals. The job has taken away his freedom.
II – I want to drive a car.
The second part deals with the life of Mukesh, who belongs to the family of Bangle-makers. Firozabad is
best known for its glass-blowing industry. Nearly 20,000 children are engaged in this business and the
law that forbids child labour is not known here. The living condition and the working environment is a
woeful tale. Life in dingy cells and working close to hot furnaces make these children blind when they
step into the adulthood. Weighed down by the debt, they can neither think nor find a way to come of out
of this trap. The politicians, middlemen, policemen and bureaucrats will all obstruct their way of progress.
The women in the household consider it as their fate and just follow the tradition. Mukesh is different
from the rest of the folk there. He dreams to become a motor mechanic. The garage is far away from his
house but he shall walk. comes across Mukesh in Firozabad.

Gist of the lesson:

Sometimes I find a rupee in garbage
 The author examines and analyses the impoverished conditions and traditions that condemn children
to a life of exploitation these children are denied an education and forced into hardships early in their
lives.
 The writer encounters Saheb – a rag picker whose parents have left behind the life of poverty in
Dhaka to earn a living in Delhi.
 His family like many other families of rag pickers lives in Seemapuri. They do not have other
identification other than a ration card.
 The children do not go to school and they are excited at the prospect of finding a coin or even a ten
rupee note for rummaging in the garbage.
 It is the only way of earning.
 The writer is pained to see Saheb, a rag picker whose name means the ruler of earth, Lose the spark
of childhood and roams barefooted with his friends.
 From morning to noon the author encounters him in a tea stall and is paid Rs. 800 He sadly realizes
that he is no longer his own master and this loss of identity weighs heavily on his tender shoulders.

I want to drive a car

 The author then tells about another victim, Mukesh who wants to be a motor mechanic.
 He has always worked in the glass making industry.
 They are exposed to various health hazards like losing their eyesight as they work in abysmal
conditions, in dark and dingy cells.
 Mukesh’s father is blind as were his father and grandfather before him.
 So burdened are the bangle makers of Firozabad that they have lost their ability to dream unlike
Mukesh who dreams of driving a car.

Chapter and Explanation

Story 1 - ‘Sometimes I find a Rupee in the garbage’

“Why do you do this?” I ask Saheb whom I encounter every morning scrounging for gold in the
garbage dumps of my neighbourhood. Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields
of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory. There were many storms that swept away their
fields and homes, his mother tells him. That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city
where he now lives.

Scrounging – searching for Amidst – in the middle of

Every morning, the writer sees a young ragpicker boy who visits the garbage dump near her
house and searches for ‘gold’ in it. The writer says that he searches for ‘gold’ ironically because
although the garbage dump is full of useless, thrown away things, still he shuffles it so minutely
as if he will get something as precious as ‘gold’ from it. The boy’s name is Saheb. His home in
Dhaka was in the middle of lush green fields. They had left it many years ago and he does not
remember it anymore. His mother had told him that there were many storms which destroyed
their homes and fields. So, they left home and shifted to the cities in search of ‘gold’. The writer
again says, “looking for gold in the big city”. Gold here refers to something precious which was
not available in their hometown. Things like shoes, money, bags, etc. for the children and food,
clothing, shelter as means of survival for their parents. The boy searches for such precious
things in the garbage dumps. One day the writer questions Saheb and asks him the reason for
shuffling through the garbage.

“I have nothing else to do,” he mutters, looking away.

“Go to school,” I say glibly, realising immediately how hollow the advice must sound.
“There is no school in my neighbourhood. When they build one, I will go.”
“If I start a school, will you come?” I ask, half-joking.

Mutters – to speak in a low voice Hollow – meaningless

Glibly - speaking or spoken in a confident way, but without careful thought or honesty

Saheb replies to the writer that he has nothing else to do other than rag picking. The writer
suggests that he should go to school. She realizes that her advice is meaningless for the poor
boy. He replies that there are no schools in the area where he lives. He also assures her that he
will go to school when one is built near his house. The writer asks him jokingly that if she opened
a school would he attend it.

“Yes,” he says, smiling broadly. A few days later I see him running up to me. “Is your school
ready?”
“It takes longer to build a school,” I say, embarrassed at having made a promise that was not
meant. But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.

Embarrassed - feeling ashamed abound - exist in large numbers bleak – empty

Saheb says that he would join the writer’s school and after a few days, he runs up to her to ask
whether her school is ready. The writer replied that it takes a lot of time to build a school. She
felt ashamed at making a false promise. She had said this as a joke and had never intended to
open a school, so she felt ashamed of herself. Saheb was not hurt because he was used to such
false promises as they existed in large numbers in his empty world. He was surrounded by such
false promises made by everyone around him. His world was empty as no promise made to
Saheb was ever fulfilled.

After months of knowing him, I ask him his name. “Saheb-e-Alam,” he announces. He does not
know what it means. If he knew its meaning — lord of the universe — he would have a hard
time believing it. Unaware of what his name represents, he roams the streets with his friends, an
army of barefoot boys who appear like the morning birds and disappear at noon. Over the
months, I have come to recognise each of them.
he would have a hard time believing it - it would be difficult for him to believe that his name meant ‘the Lord of the
Universe’
barefoot – wearing nothing in the feet
The writer had known Saheb for a few months when she asked him his name. He replied as if he
was making an announcement that his name was Saheb – E – Alam. The writer thought that the
boy did not know the meaning of his name and if he came to know that his name meant “Lord of
the Universe” he would not be able to believe it. His name was opposite to his life. He went
around the streets with a group of friends. It was like an army of boys who did not wear any
footwear. They appeared in the morning like the morning birds and disappeared at noon. The
writer could recognize all of them as she had been seeing them for the past few months.
“Why aren’t you wearing chappals?” I ask one.
“My mother did not bring them down from the shelf,” he answers simply.
The writer asked one of them that why was he not wearing any footwear. The boy simply replied
that his mother did not get them down from the shelf. As they were beyond his reach, he did not
wear them.

“Even if she did he will throw them off,” adds another who is wearing shoes that do not match. When I comment on it, he
shuffles his feet and says nothing. “I want shoes,” says a third boy who has never owned a pair all his life. Travelling
across the country I have seen children walking barefoot, in cities, on village roads. It is not lack of money but a tradition
to stay barefoot, is one explanation. I wonder if this is only an excuse to explain away a perpetual state of poverty.

Shuffles - slides them over each other excuse - a reason to justify a fault
perpetual state of poverty - never ending condition of being poor
Another boy who was wearing a different shoe in each foot said that even if his mother would
have given him the footwear, he would have thrown it away. He meant that the boy was not
wearing footwear because he did not want to wear one. The writer asked the second boy the
reason for wearing a different shoe in each foot. He did not reply and shuffled his feet as he tried
to hide the shoes. A third boy spoke that he was eager to get a pair of shoes as he had never
owned one all his life. The writer takes the example of shoes to highlight the condition of these
boys. They search the garbage dumps looking for such precious things. She further tells us that
as she travelled across the country, she had seen many children walking barefoot in the cities as
well as the villages. They reasoned that they were barefoot not due to lack of money to buy
footwear, but being barefoot was a tradition for them. The writer wondered and concluded that
the reason of it being a tradition was a mere excuse to hide the fact that they were so poor that
they could not afford footwear.
I remember a story a man from Udipi once told me. As a young boy he would go to school past an old temple, where his
father was a priest. He would stop briefly at the temple and pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later I visited his town
and the temple, which was now drowned in an air of desolation. In the backyard, where lived the new priest, there were red
and white plastic chairs. A young boy dressed in a grey uniform, wearing socks and shoes, arrived panting and threw his
school bag on a folding bed. Looking at the boy, I remembered the prayer another boy had made to the goddess when he
had finally got a pair of shoes, “Let me never lose them.” The goddess had granted his prayer. Young boys like the son of
the priest now wore shoes. But many others like the ragpickers in my neighbourhood remain shoeless.

Desolation - the state of being empty Panting - taking short and quick breathes

The writer narrates a story told to her by a man from Udipi. (Udipi is a town in Karnataka).

When he was a young boy, he would walk to his school. On the way, he would cross a temple
where his father worked as a priest. He would stop at the temple and pray to God to bless him
with a pair of shoes. After thirty years the writer visited the town and the temple. Now the place
was nearly empty. The new priest lived in the backyard of the temple. Plastic chairs in red and
white colour were kept there. A young boy came running. He was wearing grey coloured school
uniform, socks and shoes. He had a school bag hung on his shoulders. He threw it on the bed
and ran away. The writer wants to say that the financial position of the priest at the temple had
improved over the last thirty years. Now, he could afford shoes for this children. She was
reminded of another boy who got a pair of shoes. He prayed to the goddess that he may never
lose the shoes that he had got. The goddess had granted his prayer as the boy never lost his
footwear. This shows us that the underprivileged value anything that they get because they have
been longing for it.

My acquaintance with the barefoot ragpickers leads me to Seemapuri, a place on periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it,
metaphorically. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Saheb’s family is among them.
Seemapuri was then a wilderness. It still is, but it is no longer empty. In structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin,
devoid of sewage, drainage or running water, live 10,000 ragpickers.

Acquaintance - contact periphery- outer area

metaphorically–symbolically
squatters - a person who unlawfully occupies an uninhabited building or unused land
wilderness- a wasteland tarpaulin- heavy-duty waterproof cloth

The writer describes the area where these rag picker boys live. Seemapuri, located on the
outskirt of Delhi was very different from the capital of the country. In 1971 when these rag
pickers had migrated from Bangladesh, the area had been a wasteland. Seemapuri was still a
wasteland but now it was not empty as almost ten thousand rag pickers lived there in structures
made of mud, with roofs made of thin sheets of tin or plastic material called tarpaulin. There was
no sewage, drainage or running water facility in Seemapuri. They lived in unhygienic conditions.
It was a piece of wasteland where the garbage of the city was collected. These people had started
living there illegally.
They have lived here for more than thirty years without an identity, without permits but with ration cards that get their names
on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain. Food is more important for survival than an identity. “If at the end of the day
we can feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave us
no grain,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I ask them why they left their beautiful land of green fields and rivers.

Permits – legal documents Tattered – torn

The ragpickers had been living illegally in Seemapuri for the last thirty years. They have
occupied the area without government permission or ownership. The politicians of the area have
provided them ration cards and voter identity cards. They got grocery for their family through
these ration cards and in return, they cast their votes in favour of the politician who had helped
them. The writer asked a group of women who were wearing torn saris that why did they leave
their homes in Dhaka. They replied that if they were able to satisfy the hunger of their families
and sleep well at night, they were happier to live in Seemapuri than their fields in Dhaka which
were ruined and gave them no food.
Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents that become transit homes. Children grow up in them, becoming partners in
survival. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art.
Garbage to them is gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads, even if it is a leaking roof. But for a child it is even
more.
Transit homes – a temporary home

These people travelled in search of food and wherever they found it, they set up temporary
homes and started living there. Their children kept on growing there and gradually, they also
started helping their parents in seeking means of survival. For those who lived in Seemapuri, the
means of survival was rag picking. As they had been doing it for many years, they became
trained at rag picking and did it well. For the rag pickers the garbage was as precious as gold.
These families searched the garbage dumps and got things which they sold to fund their food.
They gathered torn or damaged sheets which were used to cover the roof of their homes. These
did not cover them well but still provided them with some protection. For the children, the
garbage dumps were more than a means of survival.
“I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten-rupee note,” Saheb says, his eyes lighting up. When you can find a silver coin in a
heap of garbage, you don’t stop scrounging, for there is hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a
meaning different from what it means to their parents. For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means
of survival.
Lighting up – show joy and happiness
Saheb was happy to say that sometimes he found a rupee and even a ten – rupee note in the
dump. As one often finds even a silver coin in the garbage dump, he kept on searching hoping to
find more. For the children, the garbage dump was a means of fulfilling their dreams although
partially while for their parents, it was a means of aiding survival by providing the basics - food,
clothing and shelter.
One winter morning I see Saheb standing by the fenced gate of the neighbourhood club,
watching two young men dressed in white, playing tennis. “I like the game,” he hums, content to
watch it standing behind the fence. “I go inside when no one is around,” he admits. “The
gatekeeper lets me use the swing.”
Content – satisfied
One winter morning the writer saw Saheb standing by the fence of a club. He was watching a
tennis game being played by two young men. Saheb liked the game but could not play it. He told
the writer that he went inside the club when it would be closed. He was allowed to take swings by
the guard there.
Saheb too is wearing tennis shoes that look strange over his discoloured shirt and shorts.
“Someone gave them to me,” he says in the manner of an explanation. The fact that they are
discarded shoes of some rich boy, who perhaps refused to wear them because of a hole in one of
them, does not bother him. For one who has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream
come true. But the game he is watching so intently is out of his reach.
Discarded – thrown away Bother – worry
The writer saw that Saheb was also wearing tennis shoes. They did not look appropriate with his
dress which was worn out and had faded. He told the writer in an attempt to justify himself that
someone gave him the shoes. She however figured out that he had got them from a garbage
dump. They must have been thrown away by a boy from a rich family as he did not want to wear
them anymore. Probably they had a hole or two in them due to which he did not want to wear
them. On the contrary, Saheb was not bothered by this fact and had no problem wearing them as
he could not afford anything better than that. He walked barefoot and to wear a shoe even with a
hole was like a dream for him. Although due to the garbage dump, Saheb’s dream of wearing
shoes had been partially fulfilled but his desire to play tennis would never be fulfilled.
This morning, Saheb is on his way to the milk booth. In his hand is a steel canister. “I now work
in a tea stall down the road,” he says, pointing in the distance. “I am paid 800 rupees and all my
meals.” Does he like the job? I ask. His face, I see, has lost the carefree look. The steel canister
seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so light over his shoulder. The bag was his.
The canister belongs to the man who owns the tea shop. Saheb is no longer his own master.

One morning the writer met Saheb who was on his way to the milk booth. He was holding a steel
container. He told her that he had got a job at the nearby tea stall. He would earn eight hundred
rupees a month and get meals too. The writer asked him if he liked the job as she could see that
he had lost the carefree look. As now Saheb was working for someone else and was carrying his
master’s container, he was burdened with responsibility. Earlier, as a rag picker, Saheb would
carry his own bag and was his own master. Now, he was no longer his own master.

Story 2 - “I want to drive a car”

Mukesh insists on being his own master. “I will be a motor mechanic,” he announces.
The writer met a boy named Mukesh who aspired to become a motor mechanic.

“Do you know anything about cars?” I ask.

She asked him if he knew anything about cars.

“I will learn to drive a car,” he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of
streets that fill his town Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles.
It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding
glass, making bangles for all the women in the land it seems.

looking straight into my eyes – with confidence and determination

looms like a mirage - seems that it will be true in the future but actually it will not be so
amidst – in the middle of
glass-blowing industry - industry related to making glass
furnaces - a closed room or container where heat is produced
welding - the process of joining metal or glass pieces by heating them

The boy was confident and replied that he would learn to drive a car. His dream was far away
from reality and although the boy was confident, he would succumb to the societal pressures. He
lived in Firozabad which was famous for glass bangles. The writer felt that the boy’s dreams
would not materialize and gradually get influenced by the dusty streets of Firozabad. She wanted
to say that as every family in the town of Firozabad was involved in the glass bangle industry, so
would Mukesh do with the passage of time. She tells us that Firozabad was the main town of
India for the glass – blowing industry. The families had been involved in working at furnaces,
welding glass, and making bangles for generations. They made so many bangles that it seemed
that they made bangles for all the women of the world.
Mukesh’s family is among them. None of them know that it is illegal for children like him to work in the glass furnaces
with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light; that the law, if enforced, could get him and all those 20,000
children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight hours, often losing the brightness of their eyes.
Dingy – dark, dim Slog – work hard
Daylight hours - hours of the day when there is sunlight
Brightness of their eyes - here, refers to the power to see

Mukesh’s family was also involved in the profession of glass bangle – making. They were not
aware of the law. They did not know that it was unlawful to force children to work in such glass
furnaces. The work places were hot, dark closed rooms without ventilation. The writer felt that if
the law would come into force, it would rescue almost twenty thousand children from these
inhuman places where they were forced to work hard during the daytime. They often ended up
losing their eyesight also.

Mukesh’s eyes beam as he volunteers to take me home, which he proudly says is being rebuilt. We walk down stinking
lanes choked with garbage, past homes that remain hovels with crumbling walls, wobbly doors, no windows, crowded with
families of humans and animals coexisting in a primeval state. He stops at the door of one such house, bangs a wobbly iron
door with his foot, and pushes it open.

Beam – shine brightly Volunteers - freely offers to do something

Stinking – bad smell Choked – blocked
Hovels – slums Crumbling – falling down
Wobbly – unsteady Coexisting - present at the same time and place
Primeval – prehistoric Bangs – hits
Mukesh was happy as he took the writer to his home. He felt proud as he informed her that it was
being renovated. They walked down streets which were full of garbage and gave foul smell. The
streets were lined with slums which were unsteady. The walls were falling apart, the doors were
unsteady, there were no windows and were full of families where people lived along with
animals. They reminded the writer of the prehistoric man who lived just like animals. Mukesh
stopped in front of one such door, hit it hard with his foot and pushed it open.

We enter a half-built shack. In one part of it, thatched with dead grass, is a firewood stove over which sits a large vessel of
sizzling spinach leaves. On the ground, in large aluminium platters, are more chopped vegetables. A frail young woman is
cooking the evening meal for the whole family. Through eyes filled with smoke she smiles. She is the wife of Mukesh’s
elder brother. Not much older in years, she has begun to command respect as the bahu, the daughter-in-law of the house,
already in charge of three men — her husband, Mukesh and their father.

Shack – a roughly built hut Thatched – covered with dry grass

Vessel – container for cooking food Sizzling - make a hissing sound when frying or cooking
Platters – large plates Chopped – cut finely Frail – thin, weak
eyes filled with smoke - her eyes are filled with the smoke coming out of the firewood stove
command respect - she is worthy and so, is respected

The house where Mukesh lived was partially constructed hut. In one corner was a firewood stove
made with dead grass. A vessel with spinach leaves was kept on it. on the ground There were
more plates with chopped vegetables in them. There was a thin, young woman cooking the
evening meal for the family. Her eyes were full of the smoke emanating from the stove but she
was still cheerful and smiled to see the writer. She was the wife of Mukesh’s elder brother.
Although she was not much older than Mukesh, she was a responsible person and was worthy to
get respect from the family as the daughter-in-law of the family. She took care of three men – her
husband, Mukesh and their father.
When the older man enters, she gently withdraws behind the broken wall and brings her veil closer to her face. As custom
demands, daughters-in-law must veil their faces before male elders. In this case the elder is an impoverished bangle maker.
Despite long years of hard labour, first as a tailor, then a bangle maker, he has failed to renovate a house, send his two sons
to school. All he has managed to do is teach them what he knows — the art of making bangles.

Withdraws – goes back Impoverished – very poor

Labour – hard work Renovate - repair
Veil - a piece of fine material worn by women to protect or hide the face, cover or hide

As Mukesh’s father entered the house, the daughter-in-law hid behind the wall and covered her
face behind her veil. It was a tradition for the daughter-in-laws to hide their face in the presence
of the older male members of the family. The elder here was a poor bangle maker. He had
worked hard all his life – first as a tailor, then as a bangle maker. He was still not able to either
renovate the house or send his sons to school. He had just managed to teach him the skill of
making bangles.

“It is his karam, his destiny,” says Mukesh’s grandmother, who has watched her own husband go blind with the dust from
polishing the glass of bangles. “Can a god-given lineage ever be broken?” she implies.

Destiny – fate
God-given lineage - here, a profession carried on through the generations of a family – glass bangle making
Mukesh’s grandmother justified her son by saying that he was destined to make bangles as it had
been their family profession. She had seen her husband become blind due to the dust from
polishing the glass bangles. She said that their family had got this art of bangle making from God
and so they had to carry on the tradition.
Born in the caste of bangle makers, they have seen nothing but bangles — in the house, in the yard, in every other house,
every other yard, every street in Firozabad. Spirals of bangles — sunny gold, paddy green, royal blue, pink, purple, every
colour born out of the seven colours of the rainbow — lie in mounds in unkempt yards, are piled on four-wheeled
handcarts, pushed by young men along the narrow lanes of the shanty town.

Yard – the open area at the back of the house Mounds – heaps
Unkempt – not taken care of Piled – kept one on top of the other
Shanty town - a town that is full of small, roughly built huts

They were born in a particular caste which had to follow the profession of bangle making. All
their life they had just seen these glass bangles. They were everywhere – in the backyard, in the
next house, in their yard and even in the streets of the town. There were huge spiral bunches of
bangles in different colours like gold, green, blue, pink, purple. There were bangles of all the
colours of the rainbow. Further, the writer says that there were bangles in the neglected yards
also. They were dumped on handcarts for sale. They were pushed by men along the streets of
Firozabad.
And in dark hutments, next to lines of flames of flickering oil lamps, sit boys and girls with their fathers and mothers,
welding pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside.
That is why they often end up losing their eyesight before they become adults.

Welding – joining

The writer describes the environment where these bangle makers work. They were small, dark
huts. The children would sit next to a line of oil lamps whose flames were unsteady. They, along
with their parents joined the pieces of coloured glass into circles called bangles. As they spent a
lot of time in the dark, their eyes would not adapt to the bright sunlight. Many of them lost their
eyesight before gaining adulthood.

Savita, a young girl in a drab pink dress, sits alongside an elderly woman, soldering pieces of glass. As her hands move
mechanically like the tongs of a machine, I wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps make. It symbolises
an Indian woman’s suhaag, auspiciousness in marriage.

Drab – faded, colourless Soldering – joining

Tongs - an instrument with two moveable arms joined at one end
Sanctity - the state of being sacred or holy Auspiciousness – good omen
There was a young girl by the name of Savita. She wore a faded pink coloured dress. She was
sitting with an elderly woman and they were joining pieces of glass to make bangles. Her hands
moved like a machine just like the tongs of a machine. The writer wondered if Savita knew that
bangles were sacred. They were a good omen for a woman’s wifehood.

It will dawn on her suddenly one day when her head is draped with a red veil, her hands dyed red with henna, and red
bangles rolled onto her wrists. She will then become a bride. Like the old woman beside her who became one many years
ago. She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes.

Dawn on her – she will realize Draped - covered

She thought that Savita would realize this when she would become a bride. That day she would
cover her head with a red coloured veil, colour her hands with henna and wear red coloured
bangles on her wrist. The elderly woman sitting next to Savita also became a bride many years
ago. She was still wearing the glass bangles but had lost her eyesight now.

“Ek waqt ser bhar khana bhi nahin khaya,” she says, in a voice drained of joy. She has not enjoyed even one full meal in
her entire lifetime — that’s what she has reaped! Her husband, an old man with a flowing beard, says, “I know nothing
except bangles. All I have done is make a house for the family to live in.”

Ser – a unit of measuring quantity Reaped – received as a benefit

The elderly woman complained that she had not eaten even a ser of food. Ser is a unit of
measuring quantity. The woman wants to say that they are so poor that they cannot eat enough
food. That is the benefit that she has received by adopting the profession of bangle-making. The
woman’s husband has a flowing beard. He says that he does not know anything other than
bangle – making. All that he has been able to accomplish is to make a house for his family to live
in.

Hearing him, one wonders if he has achieved what many have failed in their lifetime. He has a roof over his head!

The writer wonders that probably the old man has achieved something which many other people
have not been able to achieve. At least he has been able to secure a shelter for his family.
The cry of not having money to do anything except carry on the business of making bangles, not even enough to eat, rings
in every home. The young men echo the lament of their elders. Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad. Years
of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

Rings – a sound which is repeated Echo – repeat

Lament – complaint Mind – numbing – boring
Toil – physical hard work done to earn a living

This problem was prevalent in all the homes which carried on the profession. They did not know
anything else other than bangle-making and it did not even provide them enough to eat. The
young men who had entered the traditional profession also had the same complaint. With the
passing time there was no improvement in their condition. As they had been doing hard work for
countless number of years, they did not have any ability to do something else or to dream of it.
“Why not organise yourselves into a cooperative?” I ask a group of young men who have fallen into the vicious circle of
middlemen who trapped their fathers and forefathers. “Even if we get organised, we are the ones who will be hauled up by
the police, beaten and dragged to jail for doing something illegal,” they say. There is no leader among them, no one who
could help them see things differently. Their fathers are as tired as they are.

Vicious – cruel Hauled up – dragged, taken away

The writer suggests them to form a cooperative. She talked to a group of young men to get out of
the clutches of the cruel middlemen who had trapped their elders. The men said that if they dared
to do something like that, they would be dragged and beaten up by the police and sent to jail.
Their acts would be termed to be unlawful. The writer felt that as they had no leader, they could
not think of doing things differently. They all were so tired – the men and their fathers.
They talk endlessly in a spiral that moves poverty to apathy to greed and to injustice. Listening to them, I see two distinct
worlds — one of the family, caught in a web of poverty, burdened by the stigma of caste in which they are born; the other
a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians.
Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he cannot put down. Before he is aware, he accepts it as
naturally as his father. To do anything else would mean to dare.

Spiral – here, a never-ending continuous process Apathy – lack of concern

Greed – intense and selfish desire for something Distinct – separate
Stigma – dishonor Bureaucrats – government officials
Imposed – forced upon Baggage – burden
To dare – do something courageous

The men complained that it was a continuous process. Their poor condition led to lack of
concern for their problems. This made them greedy and led to injustice. The writer envisioned
that there were two separate worlds – one was of such families who were stuck in poverty and the
pressure of doing the traditional profession according to the caste in which they were born. The
other world is a never-ending cycle of moneylenders, middlemen, policemen, law keepers,
government officials and politicians. Both of these worlds had forced the young boys to follow
the family traditions. The young boys get into the profession and become a part of the vicious
cycle even before they realize it. If they did anything else, it meant that they were challenging
these two worlds.
And daring is not part of his growing up. When I sense a flash of it in Mukesh I am cheered. “I want to be a motor
mechanic,’ he repeats. He will go to a garage and learn. But the garage is a long way from his home. “I will walk,” he
insists. “Do you also dream of flying a plane?” He is suddenly silent. “No,” he says, staring at the ground. In his small
murmur there is an embarrassment that has not yet turned into regret. He is content to dream of cars that he sees hurtling
down the streets of his town. Few airplanes fly over Firozabad.

Hurtling down – moving around

The boys had not been reared up to be bold so that they could dare to go against the system. The
writer was happy to sense that Mukesh had the spark in him. He repeated that he would be a
motor mechanic. He wanted to go to a garage and learn the job. The writer asked that as the
garage was at a distance from his home, Mukesh insisted that he would walk up to it. She asked
him if he dreamt of flying planes. The boy became silent and refused. He did not know about
them as he did not know about planes. Not many planes flew over Firozabad. As he had only seen
cars moving around in Firozabad, his dreams were restricted up to them.

Think as you read

1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
A. Saheb is looking for any precious thing which he cannot afford to buy. Things like a rupee, silver coin
or a pair of shoes. He has come to the garbage dump in the writer’s neighbourhood. He lives in Seemapuri
in Delhi and has come from Dhaka.
2. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing footwear?
A. The author says that they do not wear footwear because it is a tradition in their families to remain
barefoot.

3. Is Saheb happy working at the tea-stall? Explain.

A. Saheb is happy that he has got work at the tea stall. He will get eight hundred rupees every month and
his meals too.

4. What makes the city of Firozabad famous?

A. Firozabad is famous for glass blowing industry.

5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

A. People who work in the glass bangle industry lose their eyesight.

6. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
A. Mukesh dares to dream and has a way out of his situation. He aspires to become a motor mechanic. On
the other hand, his family does not dare to dream. They are too tired and scared to do something to come
out of their grim situation.

Understanding the text

Q1. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
A. People migrate from villages to cities in search of a better life. They want to earn money so that they
can lead a good life and rear their children in a better way. As cities have more opportunities for work,
this makes them migrate from the villages to these big cities.

Q2. Would you agree that promises made to poor children are rarely kept? Why do you think this happens
in the incidents narrated in the text?
A. Yes, I agree that the promises made to poor children are rarely fulfilled. In the story the writer jokingly
offers the rag picker boy to join a school that she would open. In fact, she does not intend to open a
school. She speaks mindlessly but the boy takes it to be true and later asks her if the school has opened.
There are many such hollow promises in the boy’s life because the person who makes the promise never
intends to fulfil it.

Q3. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
A. The writer tells us that the bangle – makers of Firozabad are poverty – stricken. They are burdened by
the fact of the particular caste in which they are born – bangle – makers. They have to continue the
traditional profession. Further, the society has formed a harsh circle around them. The money – lenders,
middlemen, policemen, law – keepers, officers and politicians altogether form a barrier around them and
tie them in the grip of poverty. They cannot escape from it.

Q4. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?

A. Mukesh dared to dream and wanted to become a motor mechanic. He wanted to drive cars too. He
took the initial step by aspiring to do something different from the family business. I think that Mukesh
can realize his dream with determination and hard work.

Q5. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

A. The poor bangle makers in Firozabad work in dangerous conditions. The furnaces have very high
temperatures and no ventilation. Hence, they are prone to ailments like lung cancer. While polishing the
bangles, the dust harms their eyes and many lose their vision. They remain in dark for long hours and so
are unable to see during the daytime.

Q6. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

A. Forcing a child to work is a crime. This is so in order to prevent exploitation of children. If forced to
work, Children cannot enjoy their childhood. They cannot get proper education. Also, when they are
forced into hazardous works, they get ailments at a young age. This destroys their future. Their parents
overlook all these facts as they need money. So, the government has to become proactive and take
measures to check child labour and enforce the law strictly

Short Answers

Question.1. To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did they come to
India? (Compartment 2014)
or
Why did Saheb’s parents leave Dhaka and migrate to India? (Compartment 2014)
or
Why had the ragpickers come to live in Seemapuri? (Foreign 2014)
Answer. Saheb’s parents belonged to Dhaka in Bangladesh, where they lived amidst green
fields. They and the other ragpickers left their homes many years ago and migrated to India in
search of a livelihood, as their homes and fields were destroyed in storms. This forced them to
come to India, where they settled in the slums of Seemapuri.

Question.2. What job did Saheb take up? Was he happy? (All India 2014 Modified)
Answer. Saheb took up work at a tea stall, where he had to perform several odd jobs, including
getting milk from the milk booth. He was not happy, as he had lost his independence. Though he
earned ? 800, and got all his meals free, he was no longer his own master.

Question.3. In what sense is garbage gold to the ragpickers? (Compartment 2014)

or
Garbage to them is gold; why does the author say so about the ragpickers? (Delhi 2008)
Answer. Garbage is gold to the ragpickers of Seemapuri because it provides them items which
can be sold for cash, which can buy them food and is a means of survival. Moreover, it is gold
also because the ragpickers can find stray coins and currency notes in it.

Question.4. How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad? (Delhi
2014; Modified)
Answer. Mukesh has the courage to dream big in spite of all adversity, whereas the other bangle
makers of Firozabad have resigned to their fate, and have suppressed all their hopes and desires.
Mukesh refuses to follow the ‘God-given lineage’ of bangle making and wants to be a motor
mechanic when he grows up.

Question.5. Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle makers?
(Compartment 2014)
Answer. Anees Jung blames the middlemen, the policemen, the lawmakers, the bureaucrats and
the politicians for the sorry plight of the bangle makers. These people conspire against and
exploit the poor bangle makers. They pay them meagre wages, do not let them form co-
operatives, and compel their children to join the same trade at an early age.

Question.6. What is Mukesh’s dream? Do you think he will be able to fulfil his dream?
Why? Why not? (Compartment 2014)
or
What was Mukesh’s dream? In your opinion, did he achieve his dream? (Foreign 2009)
or
Is it possible for Mukesh to realise his dream? Justify your answer. (All India 2009)
Answer. Mukesh’s dream is to become a motor-mechanic. It is no doubt difficult
for Mukesh to achieve his dream, as he is torn between his desires and his family
tradition, which he cannot escape. Besides, he has to face a number of obstacles in
the form of sahukars, middlemen, bureaucrats, law makers, politicians etc.
However, his will to work hard, and his strong determination could make him
achieve his dream. ‘

Question.7. In spite of despair and disease pervading the lives of the slum children, they are
not devoid of hope. How far do you agree? (Delhi 2013)
Answer. In spite of growing up amidst despair and disease, children who live in
the slum have the desire to achieve something big in life, like Mukesh. This shows
that they are not devoid of hope. Saheb, a ragpicker, is eager to go to a school and
learn. Mukesh, who works in dark, dingy cells making bangles, dreams of
becoming a motor mechanic, which is very much against his family tradition.

Question.8. Who is Mukesh? What is his dream? (Delhi 2012)

Answer. Mukesh is a child labourer who Works in a glass bangle making factory
that is situated in Firozabad. Though Mukesh belongs to a poor family which is
engaged in bangle making, he dreams of becoming a motor mechanic when he
grows up.

Question.9. Why could the bangle makers not organise themselves into a cooperative? (All
India 2012)
Answer. The bangle makers could not organise themselves into a cooperative
because they were trapped in the vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen,
policemen, up bureaucrats and politicians. If they tried to organise themselves,
they would be beaten by up the police and put in jail.

Question.10. Mention any two hazards of working in the bangle industry. (Foreign 2011)
Answer. The glass bangle industry offers a very unhealthy and hazardous
environment to the people working in it. They have to work in the glass furnaces
with high temperature in dingy cells without air and light. Workers, including child
labourers, lose their eyesight at an early age. Slogging for long, relentless hours
also has adverse effects on their bodies.

Question.11. Why does the author say that the bangle makers are caught in a vicious web?
(All India 2010)
Answer. The bangle makers in Firozabad are exploited at the hands of the Sahukars,
middlemen, policemen, law makers, bureaucrats and politicians. They toil day and
night, but are not paid appropriate wages and are steeped in poverty. They cannot
form cooperatives for their betterment. Moreover, their children are also compelled
to join the same trade at an early age and cannot dare to take up any other
profession.

Question.12. Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? How do you know? (Foreign 2010,
All India 2009)
Answer. Saheb is not happy working at the tea stall. He is paid a fixed wage of
Rs 800, and also receives all his meals free. But the author notices that his face has
lost its carefree look, which makes it evident that he is not happy. He has lost his
independence, and is no longer his own master.

Long Answers (120-150 words)

Question.1. Give a brief account of life and activities of the people like Saheb-e-Alam
settled in Seemapuri. (Delhi 2011)
Answer. The author’s acquaintance with Saheb and other barefoot ragpickers introduced
her to Seemapuri. It is a slum area located on the periphery of Delhi. The residents of Seemapuri
consist of people who left Bangladesh in the 1971 War and are basically refugees. Saheb’s
family is among them. The area does not have facilities of sewage, drainage or running water.
(ADD) About 10000 ragpickers live here. Their only means of livelihood is ragpicking, and they
treat rags as valuable as gold.(ADD) These ragpickers have lived here for more than thirty years
without any identity. They do not have permits but have ration cards, with which they can get
their names on the voter’s list and also buy grains at subsidised rates.

Question.2.’Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn
thousands of people to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why/Why not? (All India
2011)
Answer. ‘Lost Spring’ is a good narration of grinding poverty and traditions to which thousands
of people have succumbed. The story revolves around the pitiable condition of poor children
who have been forced to live in slums and work hard in dirty conditions.
 The story is divided into two parts. The first part tells the writer’s impression about the life of
poor ragpickers who have migrated from Bangladesh, but now have settled in the Seemapuri
area of Delhi.

(ADD)

The second part narrates the miserable life of the bangle makers in the town of Firozabad.
(ADD) The stark reality of these families is that in spite of back-breaking hard work that they
put in, they cannot have two square meals a day. Besides, they are victims of exploitation by
those above them (ADD) and also suffer the consequences of blind belief in traditions.

Question.3. The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone
happy but they live and die in squalor. (Unpleasant conditions)Elaborate. (Delhi 2010)
Answer. Firozabad is the hub of India’s glass-blowing industry where families have spent
generations making bangles to adorn married women. The stark reality of these families is that in
spite of the back breaking hard work that they put in, they cannot have two square meals a
day.
They work in deplorable conditions and many lose their eyesight early. To top it all, they live in
unhygienic conditions where there is a lack of basic amenities too. (ADD)

The sad reality is that the workers cannot organise themselves into a cooperative. They are
devoid of all enthusiasm and do not dare to dream of anything better. The fear of the police
and lack of leadership among themselves have confined them to a vicious circle of poverty,
(ADD) indifference and greed. Thus, while they bring happiness to everyone’s life, their own life
is steeped in poverty and squalor.